Gates of Shadow
by 3R15UK0UM31
Summary: Kopaka must face his greatest fears if he is to reclaim his soul. KopakaxGali Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: I don't own…blah blah blah; you've all heard this before haven't you? Ah well, enjoy my fic…..R&R please. **

Kopaka sat bolt upright, his one visible eye snapping open, the other slowly focusing. The last thing he remembered was excruciating pain, and then…nothing. He was in a wooded clearing, sunlight filtering green through the canopy.

**A/N: I use big words, don't I? Frustrated yet: P **

An old Turaga lay bent over a beautifully crafted bow, smoothing it off. Off to her right were more weapons all crafted of wood; bows, arrows, whips, and even staves. She laughed softly as he approached. Before he could even ask, she answered. "I, Kopaka Nuva, am Akopi, protector of all to pass through these gates," She turned to look at him, her singsong voice falling to a murmur. "And you are here only to return, as so many have already tried, and so many of those have failed…." She hummed a bit, and then laughed at his perplexed expression. "You are but one of the few unfortunate souls to pass through this land on the way back to the world; some made it, some were not so lucky…"

"Just tell me where I am!"

She laughed again. "Patience, Kopaka. All shall be revealed. You are not really here; in fact, you, so to speak, are in Ko- koro, worrying your friends to death."

He interrupted here; "What friends? And what do you mean by so to speak?"

"You know perfectly well. In fact, you know the answers to both of those questions. As for your first one, you are in Imara-nui, the land of the passing souls. But only those souls unfortunate enough to separate in battle are brought here."

Once again he thought of a question, and once again she answered it before it left his mouth. "Yes; technically, you are dead. But there is a way back; wrought with danger, though it is, the only weapon I can provide for you is knowledge." She went back to sanding her bow, and then said, "You may not wish to travel such a dangerous path, for there is a great chance you may not succeed; but if you do not try, you can not triumph."

She turned to him. "I will arm you with much-needed knowledge either way. The path you will travel will be long and hard. Six guards you will meet; all six times you must submit without question, no matter how lethal the situation seems. But the seventh guard must be killed." Her face turned stern. "That is where so many souls have turned back, left hope behind. You must always remember that these guards are not real; they are wrought from the deepest darkest pits of your imagination. The cursed areas that hold your deepest fears; you have faced yourself before, and you must do it again. Do not fear; for all the souls in the realm are with you. May you go in peace from this land, and never return."

A gate appeared, and it opened for him, closing silently behind. After a short distance, a giant behemoth rose from the earth. Made completely out of lava, it stood eleven feet tall, and held a huge flaming sword. One hot finger shoved him roughly into a kneeling position. His first instinct was to fight; but he discarded it quickly. He would never stand a chance. Had the old Turaga lied? He didn't have time to think as the hot sword came straight at his neck.

He waited a moment more, and didn't melt into a puddle. His hand went straight to the back of his neck, where a burn now marred the muscle, and he looked up to see that the behemoth had gone. Even without any pressure on him, he was determined not to show how shaken he was to the souls hovering around the chamber.

The path continued downwards, twisting deeper and deeper into the dark. The second guardian was a flaming Muaka who made him jump into a non-existant pool of molten protodermis. The third created the illusion of a problem he didn't know how to solve that Tahu did; worst of all, it was a logic problem.

**A/N: Lord I've had a lot of Author's notes. A logic problem is one of those really hard problems with a really simple answer. I hate those…**

He was forced to sit through it without remark. The icy Toa walked on unharmed. He knew by now that the guardians were just illusions, and passed safely through the next 3 guardians. He was so weary, mentally and physically, that he didn't feel up to killing anything at the moment. He hoped it wasn't a swarm of lava rats, like the fifth guardian. But nothing could prepare him fully for the being that stepped out of the shadows.

It was none other than Gali, smiling calmly at him. Her yellow eyes looked happily at him. "Kopaka, thank the spirits you're alive!"

_The seventh guardian must be killed..._ the Turaga had said. But this was surely Gali; even if he wasn't sure, the lens in his mask confirmed that the vitals were the same. _The seventh guardian must be killed…_The phrase echoed hollowly over and over in his head. He would never forgive himself if he killed Gali. There was only one way to be sure.

"Gali," he said slowly, a bit unsure if his ruse would work. "Kopeke stole one of your canoes, smashed it in the waters outside Ko- koro, and tried to make me promise not to tell." He tried to say it blankly, and he almost regretted lying to her, and her reaction was just what he thought it would be.

"That's all right. Be sure to tell him I could always make a new one, and there's no reason to hold a grudge."

It was confirmed then. This was not Gali; the real Gali knew that Kopeke was much too honest to steal or lie. "Gali, this is nothing personal," he said, and struck her straight in the heart. He had expected his sword to go through, as this was just an illusion, right? But his sword struck solid, and she let out a horrible scream before sinking to the ground.

Now utterly convinced that he'd really killed Gali he was overcome with grief. He didn't cry though; for crying isn't something that the icy Toa would even think of doing. Instead he sank to his knees, smothered in guilt at killing a sister Toa. He reopened his eyes soon afterwards to find that in place of the corpse a gate had appeared. It was a dark burnished silver color, and had an impression of Mata- nui on the crack between the 2 doors.

It opened for him, sealing out the other souls crowding around the light. He walked through, and as soon as he had passed, felt an enormous pain in his shoulder, near his chest. He woke to find his wound bandaged, and Gali hunched near a small fire. Out the window he could see the stars, and the bright line along the horizon that signaled dawn.

He immediately guessed that the other Toa had left for the night, if Tahu had even worried. As long as he knew Gali was alive, he could sleep peacefully. And, awakening the next afternoon was smothered by Gali's incessant worrying. She kept asking him if he was ok, did he need anything, over and over, but she just seemed happy he was alive.

"I'll tell you later." was all he said. Never though would she truly know what he had been through. He preferred it stay that way.

**The end! A little bit long, but heck, I didn't think it needed two chapters. I'll say again, R&R please, and don't hesitate to flame. I can take it…I think. LOL, no feel free. I'm sorry if the end is a little dodgy, I was trying to wrap it up without stopping ubruptly. **


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